[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 227 (Wednesday, November 25, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65216-65217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31482]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects from Pecos Pueblo, NM in the Possession 
of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 
Albuquerque, NM

AGENCY: National Park Service

ACTION: Notice

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects from Pecos Pueblo, NM in the possession of the Maxwell 
Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Maxwell 
Museum of Anthropology professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the

[[Page 65217]]

Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, the Comanche Indian Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, 
the Jicarilla Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, 
the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation, the Navajo Nation, the Pueblo of Cochiti, the 
Pueblo of Jemez, the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, the Pueblo of Zuni, and 
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.
    In 1939, human remains representing approximately 51 individuals 
were recovered from the mission churches at Pecos Pueblo, NM during 
legally authorized excavations conducted by a joint research team from 
the University of New Mexico and the Museum of New Mexico headed by 
William B. Witkind. No known individuals were identified. The 26 
associated funerary objects include burial wrappings, feathers, fur, 
human hair, cordage, animal bone, matting, ceramic sherds, adobe with 
fiber, obsidian chipped stone, worked wood, and beads.
    Four Roman Catholic churches were constructed as Pecos Pueblo; two 
of these were built prior to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680; and two 
churches were constructed after 1680. The majority of human remains 
recovered in these 1939 excavations appear to correspond to burials 
associated with the second and fourth churches. Based on skeletal 
morphology and associated funerary objects, 49 of these individuals 
have been determined to be Native American. Historic records indicate 
that individuals from a number of Native American groups were baptized, 
married, or buried at the site. The burial records include persons with 
Tewa, Nambe, Picuri, Yuta, Apache, Comanche, and Tano affiliations as 
well as people from Pecos and the Pueblo of Jemez. Historic records and 
family information indicate Plains Indians were incorporated into the 
Pecos community through trade, slavery, and marriage.
    Based on material culture, historic records and documents, and oral 
history presented by representatives of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, 
the Comanche Indian Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 
the Kiowa Indian Tribe, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Navajo Nation, 
the Pueblo of Cochiti, the Pueblo of Jemez, the Pueblo of Zuni, and the 
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Pecos Pueblo (LA 625) and Pecos Mission 
(LA 4444) have been identified as a Puebloan occupation dating from the 
Pueblo III period (c. 1100 A.D.) to its abandonment in 1838 when the 
native inhabitants left Pecos Pueblo and went to the Pueblo of Jemez. 
While Pecos Pueblo mission churches have been determined to have shared 
cultural affiliation with the consulted tribes, the descendants and 
government of Pecos Pueblo now reside at the Pueblo of Jemez. In 1936, 
an Act of Congress recognized the Pueblo of Jemez as a 
``consolidation'' and ``merger'' of the Pueblo of Pecos and the Pueblo 
of Jemez. This Act further recognized that all property, rights, 
titles, interests, and claims of both Pueblos were consolidated under 
the Pueblo of Jemez.
    Based on the above mentioned information, officials of the Maxwell 
Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 
(d)(1), the human remains listed above represent the physical remains 
of 49 individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the Maxwell 
Museum of Anthropology have also determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 
10.2 (d)(2), the 26 objects listed above are reasonably believed to 
have been placed with or near individual human remains at the time of 
death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. Lastly, officials 
of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared group identity which 
can be reasonably traced between these Native American human remains 
and associated funerary objects and the Pueblo of Jemez.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Apache Tribe of 
Oklahoma, the Comanche Indian Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the Jicarilla 
Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, the Kiowa 
Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero 
Reservation, the Navajo Nation, the Pueblo of Cochiti, the Pueblo of 
Jemez, the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, the Pueblo of Zuni, and the Wichita 
and Affiliated Tribes. Representatives of any other Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human remains 
and associated funerary objects should contact Brenda A. Dorr, NAGPRA 
Project Director, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New 
Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1201; telephone: (505) 277-0195, before 
December 28, 1998. Repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Pueblo of Jemez may begin after that date if no 
additional claimants come forward.
Dated: November 18, 1998.
Veletta Canouts,
Acting Departmental Consulting Archeologist,
Deputy Manager, Archeology and Ethnography Program.
[FR Doc. 98-31482 Filed 11-24-98; 8:45 am]
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